TAFFluvia 5 TAFFluvia 5TAFFLUVIA: number five, the April 1986 issue of the newsletter of the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, is published by North American TAFF administrators Patrick and Teresa Nielsen Hayden at 75 Fairview #2D New York NY 10040 212-942-6832. European administrator: still Rob Hansen, 9A Greenleaf Rd, East Ham, London E6 1DX UK, but retiring next month. TAFFLUVIA is generally available to those who've recently donated, bid in the mail auction, sent stamps, voted, or done other Reasonable and Sufficient things. Secrets of the Rosicrucians Revealed: When voting, buying fanzines, or for any other reason giving money to North American TAFF, please make checks or money orders payable to the Nielsen Haydens, not to "TAFF," and make them payable in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank. This issue's cover, by 1968 TAFF-winner Steve "The Funniest Man In Rhode Island" Stiles, is reprinted from a TAFF newsletter he published seventeen years ago; dig that crazy time-binding, and grok with the meaningfulness of its Message, like. RSN is the tribute vice pays to virtue.
The secret map, Baron
THE WORD: Votes are still being accepted in the 1986 TAFF race, which will select a European fan to be sent to the 1986 World SF Convention over Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. This chosen fan will also visit other fan groups in North America (to the extent that circumstances allow) and upon his or her return will assume the duties of administering the European TAFF fund for the following two years. But wait! you ask. How do we choose the lucky recipient of this unendurable egoboo infinitely prolonged? Good question! we snappily reply. In fact anyone may vote who's been active in fandom since before September, 1984; votes must be entered on authentic TAFF ballots (the whole ballot, please -- both sides), signed, and accompanied by a donation of not less than US $1 or UK £1. A list of those who voted will be published along with the results, but individuals' votes will be kept secret. Finally, in order to be counted, votes must be in the hands of Rob Hansen or the Nielsen Haydens by midnight, May 15, 1986. As with our last issue, a copy of the ballot is enclosed. If you haven't yet voted, do so now; if you have, give the ballot to someone who hasn't. And, of course, further reproduction and distribution of the ballot within fandom is encouraged: thanks to Mike Glicksohn, Jerry Kaufman & Suzanne Tompkins, Jeanne Gomoll, Ted White, Mark Digre & Erik Biever, Marty & Robbie Cantor, Roger Weddall, and Mike Glyer for doing so already.
WE'D LIKE TO THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN: for invaluable help, material donated for auction, gratuitous contributions of money, and miscellaneous other forms of aid and succor to the North American TAFF fund. The honor roll this time includes Mark Digre, Jeanne Gomoll, Spike Parsons, Jerry Kaufman, Ted White, Amy Thomson, S. O. Barrera, Sheryl Birkhead, Stu Shiffman, Bill Wagner, Gary Farber, Rose Carlson, Len Bailes, Dave Langford, Pascal Thomas, Avedon Carol, Brian Thomsen, MCFI/Noreascon II, Sarah Prince, Bill Cavin, Rob Hansen, Eric Bentcliffe, Dave Locke, Jackie Causgrove, Steve Stiles, Walt Willis, Martha Beck, rich brown and the Corflu III committee, Tom Perry, Robert Whitaker, Dan Steffan, Joe Siclari, Jack & Pauline Palmer, and all those voters who contributed money in excess of the minimum. Good on you all.
TALES TO ASTONISH We don't have exact records on this, but some of the bidders at the fanzine auction we conducted at Corflu deserve a special mention for their acts of mad impetuous generosity in the service of TAFF. Held after the banquet, to an audience of roughly 50 (out of the 80 or so at the con), the auction grossed $630 for TAFF, which impressed us, anyway. Notable among the sales were: a copy of TRUE RAT #1 to Victor Gonzalez for $20; SEAMONSTERS #2 to Dan Steffan for $25; Stu Shiffman making off with a Dan Steffan original from Dan's edition of The Enchanted Duplicator for $25; and Art Widner getting a hardcover of The Improbable Irish for $39. Additionally, climbing up the price ladder, Tom Weber bought a signed & numbered collection of Lafferty short stories for $40, rich brown obtained a first edition of The Enchanted Duplicator for $40, Ted White got four issues of STOP BREAKING DOWN for $40, Jack Henegan got SLANT #7 for $50, and in the second-most-boggling event of the auction, Tom Perry fought Victor Gonzales tooth-and-nail for HYPHEN #23, finally walking off with it, bloody but unbowed, for a mere $111. Pressed for comment later, Mr. Perry could only gibber that if he'd "known that SLANT was coming, I'd have saved myself for it -- does that Henegan person know what a bargain he got?" Mr. Henegan's mysterious smile of response was largely untranscribable.
It's not relevant to TAFF, but for the record, the most boggling sale at that auction was Ted White's purchase of a run of Walt Leibscher's 1940s fanzine CHANTICLEER, which we'd put up to benefit a broke and seriously ill Gary Farber. That set of fanzines has something of a history, being the same file copies that Walt Leibscher gave to Susan Wood as described in Susan's column in OUTWORLDS #24 (1975). Ted bought them for $175, all proceeds to Gary. But what dropped our jaws even further was the way that, once the sale was concluded, Moshe Feder came up to the podium with ten more dollars for the Farber relief fund -- inspiring about half the audience to spontaneously do much the same. When we finally managed to count the money it turned out we'd collected $390 for Gary -- about half a month's worth of medical bills, in other words. Good going, cafe society fans. (And for those who know Gary, this news: he's staying with us for the foreseeable future, having become unable to maintain his own apartment in Seattle; he's getting better, albeit very slowly; and as for what he's had, it appears to have been a series of overlapping -- and dangerous -- infections. He claims an intention to write it up. "At least I'll get an article out of it." Indeed.)
AUCTION WINNERS, Cycle #2: Just like last time, the name of the item is in CAPS and is followed by the full list of bidders and amounts bid; this list concludes with the winner, whose name is underlined along with the amount of their winning bid. Start here: HYPHEN #18 (1957): Robert Lichtman $7, Richard Brandt $10, Irwin Hirsch $13, Kim Huett $14, Irwin Hirsch $16, Kim Huett $18. HYPHEN #20 (1958): Robert Lichtman $7, Mark Richards $8, Richard Brandt $10, Kim Huett $10, Kim Huett $15. HYPHEN #22 (1959): Robert Lichtman $7, Richard Brandt $10, Terry Hughes $12, Kim Huett $12, Kim Huett $15. HYPHEN #23 (1959; the Bob Shaw Festival issue): Richard Brandt $10, Kim Huett $12, Irwin Hirsch $13, Mark Richards $14, Irwin Hirsch $16, Kim Huett $20. HYPHEN #25 (1960): Richard Brandt $10, Irwin Hirsch $11, Kim Huett $12, Irwin Hirsch $13, Kim Huett $15. HYPHEN #26 (1961): Mark Richards $5, Richard Brandt $7, Kim Huett $10. HYPHEN #31 (1962): Richard Brandt $7, Irwin Hirsch $10, Kim Huett $10, Irwin Hirsch $12, Kim Huett $15. WOZ #1 (OMPA, 1954): Dave Rike $4.05, Richard Brandt $5. WOZ #7 (OMPA, 1958): Dave Rike $4.05, Richard Brandt $5. 1966 IRISH FANDOM CHRISTMAS CARD: Patrick Nielsen Hayden $3, Ann Poore $5, John Mitchell $6. FEN CRITTUR COMICAL BOOKS (1952): Moshe Feder $10, Jerry Kaufman $11, Tom Perry $15, Anne Poore $15, Kim Huett $25. SLANT #5 (1951): Louise Sachter $25, Moshe Feder $30, Louise Sachter $35, D Potter $40, Louise Sachter $42, Victor Gonzalez $50, Kim Huett $50, D Potter $60, Victor Gonzalez $65, D Potter $70, Victor Gonzalez $75, D Potter $76, Kim Huett $80, Victor Gonzalez $85, D Potter $90, Victor Gonzalez $95, D Potter $96, Victor Gonzalez $100.
Which concludes the second cycle of our mail auction; the winners owe the following amounts: Kim Huett $133, Victor Gonzalez $100, Richard Brandt $10, and John Mitchell $6. The fanzines themselves are being shipped at the same time as this TAFFLUVIA is mailed. Two corrections to our list of auction winners last time (Cycle #1): Ben Yalow won Lynn Hickman's STF TRENDS #19 for $10, not $6, and we left off the results on SCIENCE-FICTION FIVE-YEARLY #6 (1976): Mark Richards $4, Kim Huett $10. Sorry about that.
CYCLE #3: New Stuff Once again, a refresher course in how this works. The following items are open for bids until our issue-after-next, tentatively scheduled for late this summer. Our next issue will come out soon after the current TAFF race ends on May 15; in that issue we'll publish a progress report on the bidding so far, and set a deadline for final bids. Bids may be entered by any means you can contrive -- letter, phone call, in-person remark. When two bidders tie, the item will go to whoever bid the amount in question first.
BRITISH FANZINES, 1975-85
SCAB #4, 4pp, John Brosnan, 1975. "You're getting this fanzine because I often dream of you lying naked on a field of red poppies with a white pony grazing in the background." That's the selection checked on this offensive masterpiece's "Why You Got This" list; this copy appears to have been mailed to a Mr. Chris Priest. Donated by Rob Hansen, the minimum bid on this essential artifact of SF history is $2.
VIBRATOR #2, 6pp, Graham Charnock, 1975. Personalzine from the wrinkled half of WRINKLED SHREW. Insights into Lenny Bruce, Tim Buckley, buying a duplicator, and the fascistic implications of John Brunner's preprinted-response postcards. Also donated by Rob Hansen; minimum bid $2.
VISITOR'S PASS, 6pp, Dave Langford & Stu Shiffman, 1981. Remarkably coherent one-shot on the occasion of Stu's TAFF visit. Hand-stencilled covers, "Hazel's Cookery Lessons" ("Last in a series of 1"), TAFFly anecdotes, HMGovernment health warning, letter from Joseph Nicholas -- a complete fanzine in a little bitty can. Donated by Langford; minimum $2.
START BREAKING UP, 22pp, Chris Atkinson & Linda Pickersgill, 1981. In another universe, this was STOP BREAKING DOWN #8; in this continuum, Linda and Chris got tired of waiting for their articles to see print. Silicon report by Atkinson, the much-honored "Best Popcorn in Town" (on growing up at Louisiana drive-ins) by Pickersgill, L.; also, pungent editorials by both, and Chris Evans's "A Day of Lies." Another Rob Hansen donation; $3 minimum.
TAPPEN #5, 58pp, Malcolm Edwards, 1982. Final issue of one of the best British fanzines ever; outstanding material from Chris Atkinson, Chris Evans, and Leroy Kettle, all of which is nevertheless nearly eclipsed by the 36 pages of D. West's marginally epochal memoir "Performance." If you didn't buy Fanzines in Theory and in Practice, get this fanzine now and find out what everyone was talking about for months and months a while back. Still another from Rob Hansen; minimum $4 and a steal at that.
NOVACON 15 PROGRAMME PACKAGE, from the 1985 Novacon in Coventry. All the usual stuff -- programme book and miscellaneous flyers -- plus a back-to-back GoH booklet featuring a new short story by pro guest James White and a parody Sector General story by fan guest Dave Langford. Donated by Langford (and his only spare copy, too: shed a tear): minimum $5.
The dim past: classics and curiosa
THE IMPROBABLE IRISH, by "Walter Bryan" (Walt Willis). New York: Ace Books, 1969, 223pp. Obviously not a fanzine, this is still of fannish interest: Walt Willis's book on Irish culture and history, expanding on a frequent topic of his columns. "The turbulent period of British politics produced much drama and eloquence, and also one of the finest impromptu puns ever made. An Irish member [of Parliament]was defending as morally justified the taking up of arms by evicted people against the agents of absentee landlords, when he was interrupted by a shout of 'Treason!' from an English member. 'What is treason in England,' said the Irish member, 'is reason in Ireland, because of the absentee.'" Paperback, in fair condition, this out-of-print book is hard to find anywhere. "'If Oifig an Phuist doesn't mean Gentlemen,' Charles Harris said on his first visit to Dublin, 'I did a very silly thing in the Post Office this morning.'" Donated by Jerry Kaufman; minimum bid $7.
NEBULA SCIENCE FICTION, #11, December 1954. Scottish prozine featuring columns by Ken Slater, Walt Willis, and Forrest J. Ackerman, and stories by -- among others -- Bob Shaw and Harry Warner, Jr. From Willis's column, "The Electric Fan": "Although... or perhaps because... Moskowitz has no sense of humour, he has written [in The Immortal Storm] what is in some ways one of the funniest books ever. He accomplishes this remarkable feat by treating his subject with deadpan seriousness throughout, as if the events he described were of world-shaking significance. A random quotation will show you what I mean. 'But again stark drama was preparing her lines... and what was to follow... was to deal catastrophe to fandom as a whole. Ragnarok had caught the entire fan world napping!' Fascinating." Additionally, Ackerman's column is autographed on this copy, and of course the story by Harry Warner ("Ujutjo") is essential readin. Donated by Tom Perry; minimum $5.
NEBULA SCIENCE FICTION, #32, July 1958. Willis and Slater again, and an early Brian Aldiss short story ("They Shall Inherit") -- but what's immortal here is a lettercolumn exchange between John Brunner and editor Peter Hamilton on s*x and SF. Let's give Mr. Hamilton the last word, shall we? "Novels and films which suggest by their subject matter that the ideal way to spend a pleasant evening is in the close proximity of a co-operative female with a plentiful supply of alcohol to hand are quite unworthy to be classified as science fiction, regardless of how well-written or produced they are, as they sully the high ethical and moral ideals inherent in by far the greater part of this type of literature." Preach it, brother! Another donation from Tom Perry; minimum, again, $5.
MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF WAPPPOTED (World Association of Presidents and Past Presidents of OMPA and TAFF Ex-Delegates), 4pp, Walt Willis & Ken Bulmer, 1956. One-shot discussing OMPA affairs and the politics of the British bid for the 1957 Worldcon (they won). Donated by Walt Willis; minimum bid $3.
QUANDRY. Various issues and pagecounts as detailed below; all published by Lee Hoffman, all dated 1951, all donated by hero-of-the-revolution Robert Whitaker. We doubt we have to talk these up in order to justify the high minimum bids we're placing on them; as the reprint volumes and reams of fanhistorical writings indicate, QUANDRY was the fanzine that established and defined Sixth Fandom proper, and in addition set the form that the great majority of fannish fanzines have followed since, whether knowingly or unknowingly. Aside from the fact that copies of Q hardly ever go up for sale (only 100 copies of each issue were ever printed), what's remarkable about these is their condition; neither of us has previously seen a copy of QUANDRY that could be safely handled and read without shattering into brittle paper-flakes. These are different: ranging from mint to near-mint, the twiltone is undecayed, and they may be opened and perused without danger. Of course, since there may be fewer than ten other copies of these issues in such good shape, we're tempted to make any sales contingent on a promise to store them in plastic bags in the dark, but whatthehell archy, we trust you. (Yes.) The issues, from QUANDRY's peak period, are:
#8, March 1951, 30pp. Joe Kennedy, Bob Tucker, Walt Willis, Vernon McCain, Bob Silverberg, others. "Romantic Ireland is covered with a soft mantle of slush, and peace reigns over the whole land -- except, of course, for the muffled sound of Nationalists knocking the Partition..." (p. 12) Minimum $15.
#10, May 1951, 30pp. Shelby Vick, Bob Tucker, Lin Carter (!), and WaW's fannish autobiography in one-page form. "Another new fanzine came in today. I wish people would stop publishing the damned things. This one was called Ectoplasm and was apparently printed with that fluid rather than ink; after trying to read it I filed it in the refrigerator with the eggs, eclairs, ecru nuts, earth apples, edelweiss, earwax and other E-things the Blonde keeps on hand. I keep E, F, and G in the refrigerator..." (p. 3) Minimum $15.
#11, June 1951, 30pp. Richard Elsberry, Bob Silverberg, "The Harp in England," Shelby Vick, others. "Quandry Vol. I No. 11 is dedicated to fandom as a way of life and to all the youngfen who have died for the cause with the cry upon their lips, 'Defy the Deros with Dianetics!'" (p. 1) Minimum $15.
#13, August-September 1951, 100pp.: "THE QUANNISH." Joe Kennedy, J. T. Oliver, Gregg Calkins, R. J. Banks, more of "The Harp in England," Bob Shaw, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Dave English, Shelby Vick, Bob Tucker, and so forth. Too much to quote.. Minimum $35.
#14, October 1951, 30pp. Robert Bloch, Jack Speer, much Nolacon reportage including LeeH's version of How Tucker Found Out (her report politely omits the dropped towel) and a pictorial report on the original true and world-famous party in room 770 as later immortalized in story and song. $15 minimum, again.
It should go without saying that all these are festooned with Lee's own cartoons, editorials, and incidental material. Naively perfect stuff: Lee Hoffman is the Grandma Moses of the fannish artforms.
And a modern fanzine (sort of)
BOONFARK, from Dan Steffan: the complete run, issues 1 through 8, 1974-83, 352 pp total. Graphically beautiful fanzine -- mimeo, except for #4, which is multicolor xerox/offset -- with a strong fanhistorical slant; major pieces of writing herein include Steve Brown's harrowing "Circus Hand," rich brown's memorial to Ted Johnstone, and Ted White's two-part survey of Harlan Ellison's 1950s fanzines DIMENSIONS. Along with large quantities of other excellent fanart, these fanzines also include three installments of Dan's comic-strip adaptation of The Enchanted Duplicator. Stunning covers, excellent lettercolumn, the "Incomplete Towner Hall" reprint series: BOONFARK was one of the better fanzines of its period, and certainly one of the very best of its highly fannish kind. Mint condition. Donated by Dan. $25 minimum for the set.
ALSO FOR SALE, at fixed prices, the following -- while supplies last. (When ordering from this list, please give us some alternative selections; what you want may have sold already.) EPITAFF, by Eric Bentcliffe: 92pp mimeo, with hand-stencilled illos and e-stencilled cover by Eddie Jones -- Bentcliffe's report on his 1960 TAFF trip. These copies autographed. $5. ::: QUINAPALUS from M. K. Digre: issues 1 through 6, the complete set, 1978-83 (plus a more recent one-sheeter, #6.5). Fine Mipple-stipple fannish genzine with strong outside material plus hand-stencilled art by the usual crowd of talented locals (Fletcher, Waller, Kathy Marschall, Larry Becker, etc.). #6 also features the first installment of Joyce Scrivner's DUFF report. $10 the set. ::: RUNE #s 72, 73, and 74, from M. K. Digre and Erik Biever: the most recent three issues of the Minn-Stf clubzine under the current regime, including fine stuff from Harry Warner, Jim Young, and Owen Whiteoak. 115pp total: $5 for the three. ::: CLOUD CHAMBER #13/14, from Dave Langford: 12pp mimeo, consisting largely of an improbably funny story about (wait for it) moving house. No, really. Be convulsed by the most deserving Fanwriting Hugo winner since Baron Corvo: $2. ::: CHUCH: THE FANZINE, #1, from Rob Hansen and Avedon Carol: 22pp mimeo genzine featuring Dave Langford, Chris Priest, Jeanne Gomoll, and PNH. $2. ::: ONE-OFF TEN a.k.a. A COOL HEAD Vol. 4 a.k.a. OUTSIDE NOW #21, from British (now Texan) fanwriter Dave Bridges. Nearly 200 pages of creative introversion, meditative comics, and Bridgesian rumination. Colloquially known in British fandom as "The Sheffield Phone Book." $5. ::: WHISTLESTAR #1, from Lenny Bailes: 19pp mimeo, with outside material by Dave Rike and Jeanne Bowman. Quite decent re-entry into genzine fandom by the former co-editor of QUIP. $1. Also issue #2, 24pp: outside contributors include Tom Weber and Lucy Huntzinger. $1. ::: POTSHERD #1, from Stu Shiffman: Stu's solo faneditorial debut, featuring a long and meaty fanzine review column by Moshe Feder, and Stu himself getting down and wailing behind his usual blend of archaeological puns, sidelong commentary, and Yiddishkeit, with profuse illustrations courtesy of the fecund Shiffman rapidograph. #2 is due out soon; $1 for this one, meanwhile. ::: The Enchanted Duplicator, ConStellation edition, with spiff illos by Dan Steffan. $2. ::: THE ALIEN CRITIC / SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW #s 6 (1973), 11 (1974), and 13 (1975). $1 each. ::: AMRA #s 58, 59, 62, 67, and 68: $2 each. ::: ALGOL #s 21, 25, and 27: $2 each.
AND, STILL IN STOCK: THE TRANSATLANTIC HEARING AID, Dave Langford's 74pp report on his 1980 TAFF trip, surely the best complete TAFF report in the last thirteen years. (Also the only... er, um... watch this space.) Profusely illustrated. $3.50. ::: FANTHOLOGY 1981, from PNH: Kevin Smith, Christine Atkinson, Greg Benford, Chris Priest, and a star-studded cast of Others crowd this increasingly historical volume, 66pp from a time long gone. $2.50. ::: THE NEO-FAN'S GUIDE TO SCIENCE FICTION FANDOM, LACon III edition; although insufficiently revised in some ways (as Rob Hansen pointed out, saying that "blog and crottled greeps" is "a spiritous liquor and a snack greatly favored in the British Isles" is rather like asserting that "gadzooks" is a common expression in their everyday speech), this is still an informative and basically sensible work, largely due to the grandmotherly advice by Bob Tucker which has been preserved through its various successive editions. As Teresa points out, everything in it is either useful current information or of historic interest; for extra fun, you can try to figure out which is which. Exquisite illustrations by Brad Foster enhance its charm. $1. ::: SWEETMEATS, a 34-page collection of Sandra Miesel's fannish writing, edited by Jerry Kaufman. $1.25. ::: THE BIG SCHLEP, hard-hitting fan-detec-fic from Stu Shiffman: eight gripping pages, $1. ::: RAFFLES #6 (Stu Shiffman and Larry Carmody, 1982; 56pp): Andy Porter, Joseph Nicholas, Rob Hansen, Moshe Feder, Steve Stiles, others. $2. Also issue #7 (1983): Rob Hansen, Eli Cohen, Eric Bentcliffe. Triff genzine, now dec'd. $2 each. ::: Finally, The Enchanted Duplicator, Gary Farber's 1981 reprint of the 1971 Katz/brown edition with covers and on-stencil illustrations by Ross Chamberlain: a lovely item, $3 each. ::: And of course each order over $10 gets a free T.E.D. play program book; otherwise, 75¢ each.
A REASON FOR SPENDING: Disoriented as you doubtless are by the machine-gun staccato of fanzine titles and prices flitting past you, it strikes us that a break for a letter from Harry Warner might be in order. "I was thinking today about how it will be a few years in the future when I go into the old folks' home. My first birthday in the institution will loom up and the management will be firm with me: I'll be expected to chip in with expenses for the traditional birthday cake, not only for the cost of the ingredients but also to slip something inconspicuously to the fire inspector who would otherwise consider that excessive number of candles a serious fire hazard. I'll be desperate for a source of funds to meet this unexpected expense and then I'll think about my copy of The Transatlantic Hearing Aid. I'll be able to sell it for $684.86, thus enabling me to observe that birthday with honor and solvency. At least, that's the probable selling price that I arrive at after an analysis of the bids you've been getting in the TAFF auctions. So I'm enclosing a check to cover the cost of that vital part of my future and a contribution to TAFF..." Thanks, Harry. Meanwhile, trading on the New York Fanzine Exchange was up twenty-seven points today...
WHY THIS ISSUE IS LATE Oh, we don't know...maybe it had something to do with Teresa's recent round of cardiological fun (see FILE:770 #57, Feb '86, p. 7, "Teresa Collapses"), or her recurrent brush wars with the neurological establishment, or maybe a little bit because she's been losing some of her hearing, cause undetermined. ("Warranty Expires; TAFF Administrator Revealed to be Lemon.") Of course, Gary Farber's been a lot worse off than that, most of this last year or so -- getting turned into a newt would be rough on anybody -- and it's reasonable to draw a correlation between the issue's delay and the fact that Gary's been resident and feebly convalescing in our miniature transistorized one-bedroom Manhattan apartment for n weeks now and counting. And then there were all those mundane work pressures, deadlines and mass confusion and it's entirely unreasonable but do you know they refuse to pay us unless we get in there and deal with the mess? -- the fuggheads. All these fairly good excuses aside, we will admit to a certain amount of guilt: we went to Corflu when we could have stayed home that weekend and typed stencils. Nostra proxima culpa, or something like it.
Ah well. Like the letter in F:770 said, we'll be late with our TAFF report, we're overdue finishing The Complete TAFF Guide, and we're uncomfortably conscious of how many vows, mighty oaths, and campaign promises we're violating by such tardiness. You know these fan fund winners -- any old excuse to screw off. But! Don't worry; next issue we'll be back with election results (deadline May 15, so mail those ballots now), cheery auction listings, and the usual snappy patter. Boring self-pity, over and out.
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TAFFLUVIA #5
p & t nh
75 Fairview #2D
New York NY 10040F I R S T C L A S S M A I L